1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to point cloud data, and in particular, to a method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for automatically registering/merging different scans of point cloud data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Point cloud data is often acquired using laser scans of an area. It is often not possible to utilize a single scan to capture the desired area/structure. Thus, multiple laser scan range images (i.e., panoramic representations with a depth component) may be utilized to capture a desired area/structure. However, each scan has a unique vantage point and the different scans do not know where they are with respect to each other. It is desirable to determine how such scans overlap/align with each other in coordinate space. In other words, one scan may have some measurements (e.g., the distance between the wall and floor, etc.). However, the one scan may not cover the whole distance of an object/area (e.g., a building). If the multiple scans are aligned, the measurement of the full length of the area (e.g., building) may be determined. Embodiments of the invention attempt to automatically register the different scans together to create a single image that includes multiple accurately aligned scans.